Raising awareness of the need for adoptive families

Our National Adoption Recruitment Campaign promotes adoption from foster care and raises awareness of the 112,000 children and teens waiting to be adopted.

This year’s campaign theme—“What to Expect When You Are Expecting a Teen”—highlights the need for families for teens. Of more than 5,000 children in foster care actively photolisted on adoptuskids.org, 43 percent are 15–18 years old.

The recruitment campaign ads raise awareness of thousands of teens waiting to be adopted.

The campaign public service announcements (PSAs) and print ads parody the iconic pregnancy guide, What to Expect When You’re Expecting. They humorously depict common scenarios parents encounter when adopting a teen—such as confusing text messages, binge-watching, and “promposals.”

The PSAs end with the tagline, “You don’t have to be perfect to be a perfect parent,” reassuring prospective parents that even if they are not perfect, they can provide the stability and security that teens in foster care need and deserve.

The National Adoption Recruitment Campaign is a partnership of AdoptUSKids, the Children’s Bureau, and the Ad Council.

AdoptUSKids is operated by the Adoption Exchange Association and is made possible by grant number 90CQ0003 from the Children's Bureau. The contents of this website are solely the responsibility of the Adoption Exchange Association and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Children's Bureau, ACYF, ACF, or HHS. Find out more about us.